Kukla's Korner Hockey

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Capitals have partnered with Brand Thunder, a leader in computer browser branding, to create the first team-branded Internet browser in professional sports.
The customized Firefox theme allows fans to stay informed on the most up-to-date Capitals’ news no matter what website they are visiting. Once the browser theme is downloaded to a fan’s computer, the program transforms the average browser into a Capitals-themed experience. Additionally, there is an interactive toolbar that allows fans to purchase tickets, check out the Caps upcoming schedule and keep tabs on their favorite player by visiting the team roster. There is also a news scroll that keeps fans informed of recent Caps happenings.

“He’s been cleared medically,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “Now, he has to get cleared by our therapy people as far as being ready to play.
“If he’s ready to go, he’ll be in.”
Bertuzzi skated briefly on his own Thursday and took part in an optional practice Friday.
“It felt pretty good,” he said. “We’ll see how it feels tomorrow after another hard skate.”

Columbus: Penguins It’s a relatively easy drive to Mellon Arena, and Blue Jackets fans can also see how astute drafting—well, and having the luck to be especially rotten in the right draft years—can actually lead to progress.

The NHL quarterfinal series between the Minnesota Wild and Anaheim Ducks has yielded strong ratings for KSTC-TV Channel 45. The station reported a record viewers for Wednesday’s playoff series opener.
The company said that for the last hour of the game, it averaged an 8.0 rating with a 25 household share. The overall average was a 7.9 rating and an 18 household share. A single ratings point represents approximately 16,ooo to 17,ooo viewers.

Approximately 13,217 homes in the Nashville television market tuned in to watch Game 1, according to WTVF-5 Program Director Mark Binda.
The 1.4 rating was lower than last season’s Game 1 rating between the two teams, which hit 2.4 (approximately 22,000 homes).

The ticket demand often is one of the first things a player encounters when he reaches the NHL. Minor leagues typically give free tickets to their players, and demand is minimal. At the next level, the numbers inflate.
“You find out where a lot of people are and who you went to high school with when you start playing in the NHL,” said Penner, a rookie of the year candidate. “You get some guy you went to school with for three days and his cousin wants tickets for his son.”
Said Getzlaf, “It’s hard at the start. You want to try and get everybody to a game. You don’t want to overlook people.”
It can add up. Fifteen tickets at, say, $60 each, will run close to $1,000.

Spector has gathered some information on a few teams not involved in the playoffs.
At times you have to feel for the fans of these teams, they deserve to be rewarded and hopefully the future will be brighter for them.

Certainly, the mind-set will have to change tomorrow night if the Islanders hope to tie the series.
“We might have been doing too much watching and not enough attacking,” said defenseman Sean Hill. “It’s nice to be close, but we were in position to steal that game. With the amount of offense we had, we have to take some solace in that.”
For a team whose mantra in the final week was “desperate times call for desperate measures,” perhaps the situation wasn’t desperate enough.

The embattled Leafs GM, whose team has yet to make the playoffs in the post-lockout era, and whose future within the organization has been the subject of much speculation since the NHL regular season concluded last weekend, received a cautious endorsement from his boss yesterday afternoon.
“As long as myself and the board are convinced that John can get us a championship, he’s got a job,” Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president Richard Peddie said. “We still have to go through the assessment. I still want to see his plan. But John has got my support at this time.”

• So Pavel Datsyuk scored his first NHL playoff goal since 2002. Does that put one monkey out of work or does he team up with his buddy on Marty Turco’s back?
• Initially I was picking Buffalo in four games; I’d like to change that to three. That’s because rather than subject themselves to a fourth straight defeat, the Isles will forfeit Game 4.